A Leadership Transition at IRMS

A transition in the principal’s office is coming to Icicle River Middle School this summer. On July 1, Mike Janski will retire and James Swanson will take the reins of IRMS as its new principal. Janski has been at IRMS for 26 years, the last six as principal. Swanson, a Central Washington native, is currently principal at South Whidbey Middle School. Both were math teachers before becoming principals. 

 

Mike Janski began working at IRMS in the mid-90s as part of the sixth-grade team and took the school helm in 2015. While he has seen a lot of change at IRMS and in the greater community over the last quarter-decade, Mr. Janski feels that it has “almost always been toward the positive and that the school right now has as great a group of kids as we’ve ever had, with equally great parents who have been and are so supportive of both their children and our school.” Of course, the last year has been “far different from all the others” and is “easily the most memorable” for Janski who cited, again, the cooperation and support of students, parents, staff and administration in devising effective solutions to pandemic restrictions. Tracey Beckendorf-Edou, Cascade School District Superintendent, had high praise for Janski’s decision to stay on at IRMS through the pandemic years and felt that his “experience and great relationships with everyone at IRMS and in the district office” were crucial to steering the school safely and efficaciously through the crisis. Kim Gilreath, the IRMS seventh-grade science teacher concurred with Beckendorf-Edou's sentiments recalling that Janski “has been excellent at meeting the needs of us all and taking into consideration many diverse ideas when making decisions.” 

 

IRMS ASB President, Caroline Menna, said that while she “is excited for next year’s sixth, seventh and eighth graders to have a new principal,” she is at the same time “a little sad that they will miss out on having Mr. Janski around. He set the tone at IRMS of being an inclusive, friendly and calm space – perfect for learning.” IRMS ASB Vice-President, Kate Smith, echoed Menna’s sentiments saying that “Mr. Janski’s strong, quiet character has been especially important, I think, to the staff and student body as we have been phasing back to in-person learning. He will be missed in our halls.” 

Beckendorf-Edou and Gilreath both served on the hiring committee to replace Janski. To begin the process, the committee met with IRMS staff to ask for what they were looking for in a principal. With this knowledge in hand, they conducted a month of interviews and, out of a dozen or so candidates whom they felt were qualified, settled on three finalists. Each of the three spent a full day at the district, spending time at IRMS, engaging in further interviews with Beckendorf-Edou and the IRMS staff, and participating in a community forum. Once the process was concluded, the committee knew they found their principal. Beckendorf-Edou said that they were “looking for a strong leader who could bring a unified vision to IRMS as well as communicate effectively with the whole of the IRMS community. Mr. Swanson made it very clear that he was that leader.” Gilreath concurred, adding that she “appreciated his experience as both a teacher and a principal. He’s been around students in both roles and very much wants to be here in our community. Those things stood out for me.” Mr. Janski, who was not on the hiring committee, gave Mr. Swanson a tour of IRMS and is now working with him to ensure a smooth transition, feels that “IRMS will be in good hands” with Swanson and remarked that “he is a really good guy.” 

 

James Swanson grew up in Moses Lake, attended Washington State University on a track scholarship, and graduated with a degree in mathematics. After a long stint teaching and coaching in the Tonasket School District, Mr. Swanson taught in the Wenatchee School District before moving to Whidbey Island where, in addition to being a middle school principal, he is the district curriculum coordinator, safety coordinator and creator of the South Whidbey Virtual Learning program. When asked why he would leave Whidbey for Leavenworth, Swanson said that he has admired IRMS from afar for some time and “kept his eye on an opening in the principal’s chair. IRMS has a very good reputation” in education circles and “Leavenworth and the Upper Valley feel like home to my partner Carrie [a nurse practitioner] and me.” 

 

Mr. Swanson’s education philosophy revolves around the notion that every student “should have ready access to the opportunity to learn. In addition to strong academic opportunities, I want students to learn how to be good community members and have positive social experiences.” In addition, Swanson seeks to “provide support for the IRMS community, including teachers, staff and parents to the fullest.” Before moving ahead with any of his own visions for IRMS, Mr. Swanson believes that it’s critical to “build relationships with the staff and

students in order to gain each other’s trust, and only then work together toward any new goals for IRMS.” 

 

Mr. Swanson and Carrie are eagerly looking forward to moving to the Upper Valley this summer and participating in some of the pursuits endemic to our community: skiing, mountain biking and hiking. More than anything though, Swanson says that he “can’t wait to get to know the students, staff and community.” 

 

As Swanson and Janski work toward their respective ends of the school year, CHS seniors Stella Johnson and Rory Swoboda reflected on their time at IRMS and with Mr. Janski. Johnson said that “Mr. Janski always seemed to have a smile for us as we came in or left the building.” Swoboda, in a vein similar to that of Menna and Smith, recalled Janski as “always being a steady, calm presence in the school - our figurative foundation in those years, in a way.” Janski plans to stay in the area and travel with his wife Anne. Looking a little wistful, he said that he “will miss most of all, looking out [his] office window at the kids playing at recess on the IRMS field.”